Archive for
July 25th, 2013

The Milwaukee Bucks have requested waivers on center Gustavo Ayon, General Manager John Hammond announced today.

Ayon (6-10, 250) appeared in 12 games for the Bucks last season after being acquired from Orlando on Feb. 21, averaging 4.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists per contest. The native of Tepic, Mexico, has appeared in 109 career games over two seasons split between New Orleans, Orlando and Milwaukee, with career averages of 4.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

The Atlanta Hawks have signed forward/center Pero Antić, President of Basketball Operations/GM Danny Ferry announced today.

Antić, a 6-foot-11, 260-pound big man, has played with Olympiacos in the Greek Basketball League and the Euroleague the last two seasons, helping the club to back-to-back Euroleague championships. Last year, he averaged 6.2 points and 3.3 rebounds in 15.2 minutes in 30 games (.432 FG%, .321 3FG%, .714 FT%).

“Pero is a skilled and versatile big man who will add depth to our frontcourt,” Ferry said. “He will fit in well with what we’re building and we’re excited to add him to the team.”

A native of the Republic of Macedonia, Antić has played professionally since 1999, beginning with Rabotnički in his home country. He has also played with AEK Athens (Greece), Red Star Belgrade (Serbia), Academic Sofia (Bulgaria), Lokomotiv Kuban (Russia) and Spartak St. Petersburg (Russia).

Additionally, the 30-year-old Antić is the captain of the Macedonian National Team, helping the team to the semifinals of EuroBasket 2011 in Lithuania. He averaged 11.5 points and 8.8 rebounds over 11 games in the tournament, while collecting three double-doubles.

Bobcats Sports & Entertainment President & COO Fred Whitfield today announced the Bobcats will play regional home contests in Asheville and Greensboro, N.C., as part of the team’s 2013 preseason schedule. The Bobcats will take on the Atlanta Hawks on October 8 at Asheville’s U.S. Cellular Center and host the Dallas Mavericks on October 19 at the Greensboro Coliseum. Both games, which are presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, will tip off at 7:30 p.m.

“We are constantly looking for ways to bring Bobcats basketball to cities across the Carolinas as we continue to build our fan base regionally,” said Whitfield. “We are very excited to have the opportunity to showcase our team in a pair of great markets like Asheville and Greensboro.”

The game in Asheville will be the team’s first preseason contest in the city, while the club will host a game in Greensboro for the third time.

The Brooklyn Nets will open their 2013-14 campaign with a seven-game preseason schedule that includes three home contests played at Barclays Center, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.

The preseason slate features a home-and-away set with the defending champion Miami Heat, who visit Brooklyn on October 17, while the Nets travel to Miami in the preseason finale on October 25.

The schedule is also highlighted by the return of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry to Boston on October 23rd. The former Celtics were acquired by the Nets on July 12th in an offseason blockbuster trade, and will host their former team at Barclays Center on October 15th.

Brooklyn tips off its exhibition schedule on October 8th against the Wizards in Washington, followed by a home tilt in Brooklyn against the Detroit Pistons on October 12th and a road contest against the division rival Philadelphia 76ers on October 14th.

New York Knicks Executive Vice President and General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has re-signed forward Kenyon Martin.

Martin provides toughness, defense, rebounding, and some offense. Every team needs an enforcer or two, and Martin helped serve that role on the Knicks last season.

“Kenyon did a fantastic job for us once he signed in February,” Grunwald said. “He strengthened our frontline going into an important stretch of the season with some very impressive performances. We are happy to have him back.”

Martin, 6-9, 230-pounds, averaged 7.2 points, on 60.2-percent shooting, and 5.3 rebounds over 23.9 minutes in 18 games (11 starts) with New York this past season. In 12 post-season games (one start), he averaged 5.8 points, on 58.0-percent shooting, 4.5 rebounds and 1.42 blocks over 21.1 minutes. He originally signed the first of two consecutive 10-day contracts on Feb. 23, 2013 and then, for the remainder of the season on Mar. 15.

The Saginaw, MI-native, holds career averages of 12.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 31.4 minutes in 13 seasons with New Jersey, Denver, the L.A. Clippers and New York. In 112 postseason games (88 starts), he has averaged 12.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 32.1 minutes. He was selected by New Jersey, following a four-year collegiate career at the University of Cincinnati, with the first overall pick of 2000 NBA Draft. Martin was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2001 and represented the Eastern Conference at the 2004 NBA All-Star Game.

The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday the additions Bill Bayno and Jesse Mermuys (MER-miss) to Head Coach Dwane Casey’s staff as assistant coaches. The team also announced the promotion of Jama Mahlalela (JAM-ah MA-la-LAY-La) to assistant coach/player development.

Bayno brings more than 20 years of coaching experience to Toronto at the NBA, college and international levels. He recently completed his second season with Minnesota as an assistant coach for Rick Adelman. Bayno previously spent five seasons with Portland as an assistant coach.

A native of Newburgh, New York, Bayno began his coaching career in 1985 as a graduate assistant for former Raptors assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo at Seton Hall. He also worked for Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown at Kansas and John Calipari at UMass before landing his first head coaching job at UNLV in 1995. Bayno guided the Runnin’ Rebels for five seasons, earning NCAA Tournament bids in 1998 and 2000 and winning four conference championships. He was named co-Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year for the 1999-2000 season after compiling a 23-8 record.

During the offseason Bayno has participated in the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program each year since 2005. He has also worked overseas at the Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy and was head coach of the Talk ‘N Text Phone Pals in the Philippine Basketball Association.

Mermuys was a member of Kevin McHale’s staff in Houston last season, serving as assistant coach/director of player development. He worked with the Denver Nuggets for four years, first as video coordinator in 2008-09 then promoted to advance scout where he was responsible for scouting upcoming opponents throughout the league. He was elevated to assistant coach/advance scout for the 2011-12 campaign.

Mermuys, a native of Tucson, Arizona, had served in a variety of roles at the collegiate level, including director of basketball operations for the University of Arizona, assistant coach at Southern Utah and Pima Community College and video coordinator at New Mexico State.

Mahlalela moves to the bench following two seasons working in the Raptors’ front-office as director of player development. He started with the Raptors on the community development staff in 2006, leading the Raptors Basketball Academy and various clinics throughout Canada. Mahlalela was named director of basketball operations for NBA Asia in 2009 and oversaw the League’s clinics, youth programs and elite-level development from his base in Hong Kong.

Mahlalela was a four-year starter at the University of British Columbia and an assistant coach for four seasons at the University of Toronto.

The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday that Head Coach Dwane Casey and his team will conduct a portion of training camp in Halifax, Nova Scotia on October 4 and 5, featuring an intra-squad game Saturday, October 5 at noon at the Halifax Metro Centre. The team also held part of their 2012 camp in Halifax.

“We are excited to return to Halifax after our great experience last year,” said Casey. “The city offers us state of the art facilities and the opportunity to continue to grow the game of basketball across the country.”

The intra-squad game will provide fans the first opportunity to preview the team for the upcoming season and will include appearances from The Raptor and the Foot Locker Raptors Dance Pak. Last year’s scrimmage attracted more than 8,700 fans and raised $56,000 for local charities.

“We are proud of our continued partnership with the Toronto Raptors and are excited to welcome them to the Halifax Metro Centre for a second year in a row,” said Scott Ferguson, president and CEO of Trade Centre Limited, the provincial Crown corporation that manages the Halifax Metro Centre. “The Raptors have a huge fan base in our community and when an opportunity like this comes along to engage fans and support local charitable organizations at the same time, it is a win for everyone.”

The Dallas Mavericks announced today they have re-signed forward/center Brandan Wright.

Wright has not done much in the NBA yet and is considered backup material to come off the bench and provide frontcourt depth.

Wright (6-10, 210) joined the Mavericks via free agency on December 9, 2011. In two seasons with Dallas, Wright has played in 113 games and elevated his game in 2012-13 when he averaged 8.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 18.0 minutes per game while shooting .597 from the field.

Wright was an early-entry candidate into the 2007 NBA Draft and was the eighth overall pick by the Charlotte Bobcats. Wright was acquired by Golden State in a draft-day trade in exchange for Jason Richardson and the draft rights to Jermareo Davidson. He has played in 277 games (47 starts) with Golden State, New Jersey and Dallas and holds career averages of 6.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.0 block and 14.9 minutes per game.

Wright was a standout at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he started all 37 games as a freshman and was named Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year and All-ACC Second Team.

A native of Nashville, Tenn., Wright was a two-time Parade All-American and was the first athlete in the state to ever earn “Mr. Tennessee” honors three times. He also led Brentwood Academy to four consecutive state championships.

The Orlando Magic have signed free agent guard Ronnie Price, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today.

Price is generally considered to be a backup, and is generally expected to come off the bench and play limited minutes.

Last season, Price (6’2”, 190, 6/21/83) played in 39 games with Portland, averaging 2.7 ppg., 1.9 apg. and 1.1 rpg. in 13.1 minpg. He led the Blazers in assists once and scored a season-high 10 points on Nov. 18 vs. Chicago. Price was waived by Portland on Feb. 21, 2013.

“We’re excited to welcome Ronnie (Price) and his family to the Magic organization,” said Hennigan. “We believe Ronnie’s toughness and competitive spirit, along with the varied experiences he’s gained throughout his career, will impact the development of our team in a positive way.”

Not drafted by an NBA franchise, Price was originally signed as a free agent by Sacramento in 2005. He has appeared in 394 career games (33 starts) with Sacramento, Utah, Phoenix and Portland, averaging 3.5 ppg., 1.4 apg. and 1.1 rpg. in 11.6 minpg. Price has also appeared in 28 career playoff outings, averaging 2.2 ppg. and 1.1 apg. in 6.5 minpg.

Before turning pro, Price played three seasons at Utah Valley State, averaging 19.7 ppg., 3.9 rpg., 2.7 apg. and 1.63 stlpg in 89 career games. He was named the 2005 NCAA Division I Independents Player of the Year, earned USBWA All-District 8 honors and led the Wolverines in scoring in all but five games as a senior in 2004-05. Price transferred to Utah Valley State after playing his freshman campaign at Nicholls State.

If the Washington Wizards have their way, star guard John Wall will not be going anywhere anytime soon.

Citing “sources close to the process,” ESPN.com’s Marc Stein reported that the Wizards are in “advanced talks” to sign Wall to a five-year, $80 million contract extension. The same report claimed both the team and Wall hope to have an agreement completed and signed by August 1.

Wall, 22, must sign an extension by Oct. 31 declaring him a designated franchise player. Otherwise, he’d become a restricted free agent on July 1, 2014.

Mike Miller is going back to a former home, agreeing to a deal with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Miller confirmed the deal to The Associated Press on Wednesday, about a week after the Miami Heat designated him as their amnesty player after three seasons with the team. Miller will still collect more than $12 million in salary from the Heat over the next two seasons, but will not count against their salary cap or luxury tax.